1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a take-up bracket for connection between a flooring or roofing section and a supporting joist or rafter which is used to adjust the position of the floor or roof relative to the underlying support. More particularly, the invention is concerned with an elongated, L-shaped in cross-section, angle iron-type bracket presenting a flat, elongated first leg having a plurality of elongated slots therein whose axes are generally parallel to one another and to the longitudinal axis of the bracket, and an integral, flat, elongated second leg, substantially perpendicular to the first leg, having defined therein a plurality of elongated slots whose axes are generally parallel to one another but whose axes are an oblique angle relative to the bracket axis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In new home construction, flat plywood sheets or other similarly functional material are nailed and/or glued to underlying, depending, perpendicular floor joists to form a flooring base. Typically, carpeting, tile, hardwood strips, and so forth are then applied to the plywood flooring base to form a finished floor.
The plywood subflooring used in this context may, because of modern-day standards in the lumber industry contain relatively high moisture levels above the eventual equilibrium level. Moreover, excess moisture is often present in such plywood flooring sheets by virtue of the fact that the sheets can absorb moisture during storage. When the home under construction is completed, the interior relative humidity of the air usually drops to a low level, especially in the winter. This low relative humidity condition causes the plywood sheets to dry out over time which may and often does cause the plywood sheets to warp or bulge and thereby raise up above the floor joists. The forces involved can cause the plywood to warp even though the sheets were initially firmly nailed and glued to the floor joists.
This warping may be so severe that "humps" in the finished floor are visually noticeable, and when a person walks across the floor, these humps then "give" and "squeak." Proper correction of this problem often involves great expense because the finished flooring material must be removed, the warped sheets renailed and reglued to the joists, and the finished flooring material replaced. Often the old carpet, tile and so forth cannot be salvaged and must be replaced anew.
This warping problem is not confined to new homes, but can occur in older homes as well when the old floor joists sag causing a "dip" in the floor usually in the vicinity of the center of the joist span. As the joist sags, the nails holding the plywood sheets may work loose or partially pull through the sheets, causing the floor to bounce and spring when one walks across the floor. Known solutions to this problem are expensive because, here again, the finished floor material must be removed, the flooring base shimmed up level at the junction with the joists, the flooring base renailed, and the new flooring material replaced.
The same problem can be encountered in roofing constructions, wherein the plywood sheeting can bow or "hump" relative to the supporting rafters. Prior methods of repair have involved removal of roof shingles, renailing of the roof sheeting, and shingle replacement. Here again, this is a costly and time-consuming repair.